Genetics and prediction of treatment-resistant depression

Major depressive disorder is a common psychiatric disorder and a leading cause of disability worldwide.

Although current treatments are generally effective, up to one-third of patients fail to respond to first line therapies, and are referred to as having treatment-resistant depression (TRD).

TRD patients have higher rates of mortality, higher health care costs, and are hospitalized longer compared to other depression patients. Therefore, deep knowledge about genetic and non-genetic factors underlying TRD is urgently needed.

Leveraging powerful resources of the Swedish national registries and genomic data from clinically-ascertained cohorts, this program aims to systematically study this ‘difficult-to-treat’ form of depression.

Specifically, we aim to 1) investigate the genetic epidemiology of TRD, in particular to quantify heritability and genetic correlations; 2) identify and replicate specific genetic markers associated with TRD; and 3) develop prediction models for TRD by integrating register and genomic data.

The applicant will actively lead this program and establish a multidisciplinary team across epidemiology, genetic epidemiology, psychiatry, and machine learning.

This program will offer novel insights into the biological underpinnings of TRD, and has great potential to enable early detection of TRD patients at psychiatric clinics, thereby to reduce morbidity, mortality, and suffering in patients with this severe form of the disorder.